


Movie Night

by inkyandness



Category: Hot Guy P.I. (Webcomic)
Genre: (vaguely implied) - Freeform, Autistic Schmidt, Gen, Intricate Rituals, M/M, Movie Night, Nadia roasts Schmidt, Schmidt and Nando could be read as romantic or platonic, Schmidt: Nearly threw hands with a 13 year old, movies - Freeform, neurodivergent schmidt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:22:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24414274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inkyandness/pseuds/inkyandness
Summary: Movie nights. They weren’t really planned. In fact, to a certain degree, they were deliberately unplanned.(What intricate rituals will these hot detectives go through in order to hang out on their off-hours? The answer may shock you! It also may not. That's a viable possibility.)
Relationships: Nadia and Nando, Schmidt and Nando, Schmidt/Nando
Comments: 2
Kudos: 88





	Movie Night

Nando didn’t know when they began doing movie nights, but it seemed to be an easier transition than most of the decisions they made together.

They went from being acquaintances to weird work friends rather quickly, and soon enough they just became regular enough friends. Being asked to watch your associate’s daughter once or twice and being brought to bar trivia nights with half a courtroom participating tends to do that to your relationships with people. So, of course, movie nights followed shortly afterwards.

They weren’t really planned. In fact, to a certain degree, they were deliberately unplanned. 

Schmidt and Nando were already aware that their relationship had a weird floatiness to it that made people assume that they had been married for many a year, even though they’ve barely been friends for three months. It’s not that they fought against this image, but it’s not exactly like they were leaning into it either. When it happened -- and it did happen, quite a bit -- they barely even acknowledged it. No jokes were had about how Schmidt didn’t even know Nando was just a nickname until a couple of weeks ago or how they couldn’t be dating considering Schmidt was living with another woman. It was...what it was, and if they weren’t going to analyze it, they were simply going to have to move past it. 

And that’s what they did.

So, because of all these factors, they didn’t exactly try to plan out any hang out, for that matter, that wasn’t for work. Meals out were planned spontaneously, even if Schmidt had reserved seats hours in advance at certain places. Nando always just happened to be working a job when he needed to drag Schmidt to something for his daughter, if only because the school had begun sending Nadia’s report cards to the address of “Mr. and Mr. Syls,” assuming that there was simply a spelling error that resulted in there ever being a _“Mrs. Syls.”_

(Boy, did Nando enjoy explaining that one to her) Movie nights were the same way.

Every now and again, the stars just seemed to align perfectly, with there being a movie somebody wanted to watch, or a reason for Schmidt to be at the apartment. Sometimes one preluded the other, but if Nando said that Nadia had wanted to see Schmidt again, or that apparently one of them had never seen a specific apparent “classic” movie, chances are, the hints of a movie night were on the horizon.

Just like it was tonight.

Nando didn’t even really know how it happened. 

After Nadia had finished dinner, she was trying to goad him into watching this movie that had recently dropped on Netflix, because her film teacher was offering extra credit to people who watched it, and her friends weren’t very interested in it. 

“You can’t just watch a movie alone, who will you make snarky quips at? The screen?”

He remembered that, and it seemed like a reasonable request at the time, so he said something along the lines of a “sure,” and told her to boot the movie up while he cleaned up the kitchen.

But _then_ Schmidt was knocking on their door saying that he was only a few blocks away when he had realized he had forgotten his coat, and although the night wasn’t especially cold, he just...needed it back, so of _course_ he had let him in to get it.

And for _some_ reason Nadia was asking him if Mr. Schmidt could stay for movie night, if only because this looked like the kind of movie he’d like and they had too much pizza to try to stuff into the fridge because the pizza place had messed up their order and…

“You don’t have to call me Mr. Schmidt, and besides, I’m sure Nan-your father would rather I got out of his hair for the time being.”

“Mom says it’s only polite, and you don’t have to talk to me like I’m five. I know who “Nando” is.” Nadia responded, but it felt more like annotations than a genuine response.

“Regardless, it’s still Nando’s decision, and I probably have some paperwork I need to do at home.”

“You... _probably_ have some paperwork?”

“Nando, please tell your daughter to stop being so critical.”

“This isn’t critical. If I was going to be critical, I’d ask why you wear a big black coat all the time.” 

She tilted her head in an exaggerated fashion and then began to circle him. 

“Like, I _guess_ it’s a look. Like one of those sad men on the CW. Or that one guy from _New Girl._ ”

“Nadia.” Nando said vaguely sternly, but she didn’t seem to register it. Quite honestly, he found this all rather passively entertaining. The same way that listening to one side of a phone call was entertaining. Sure, he should probably step in sooner rather than later, but there was something humorous, or at the very least, interesting about the way they seemed to play this game like he wasn’t there. 

Schmidt never came off as the kind of guy who was used to kids, and Nadia was the kind of kid who never knew exactly how to talk to adults. Some may have called it precocious, even Nando, if he wasn’t aware how the line between “a very gifted, eccentric child with a lot of potential” and “a listless teen who has the potential to be great, if they just tried harder and didn’t shirk authority as much as they did” was growing blurrier by the day, and he wasn’t looking to encourage that.

“It’s a compliment! A lot of people are into those sad CW men.”

“Nadia. Please. Maybe another time. The last thing I need is your fathe- _Nando_ , sick of me before tomorrow.” He sounded tired. Weirdly tired. 

Nando was kind of taken aback by this. Not in like, an especially shocked way, but more confused than anything else. Who’d get sick of Schmidt? At the worst of times, he just asked a stupid question here or there, but most of the time, he kind of drifted about like a moody ghost. How was that annoying? Or even sickening?

Of course, it’s not like Nando could say something like “I’d never get sick of you,” because that’s already such a wild thing to say to your bro of 3 months, let alone in front of your daughter who probably just wants an extra somebody to make fun of movies with.

So he didn’t say that specific six word phrase. Instead, he said a different six word phrase.

“I don’t mind if you stay.” He shrugged with his arms crossed, but he smiled when he did.

Which was how Movie Night #7 was set into motion. Nadia popped some popcorn and talked eagerly about how she was planning to write her response on the movie about “the disrespect the contemporary horror movie genre seemed to get in comparison to the rest of the world of cinema, despite…,” Nando and Nadia had a great time trying to figure out which effects were CGI or practical --

“Duh, that buzzsaw was clearly CGI, look at how plastic it looks!”

“They wouldn’t have cut away so fast if it wasn’t as bad as it was, the impact is like the money-shot of all good horror movie kills.”

\-- and Nando only had three pieces of pizza and only seemed to jump at every jumpscare that you could consider a jumpscare in the movie --

“That wasn’t even scary, it was just a coat rack.”

“It was loud.”

\-- before clocking out at 2 AM, at least two hours after Nadia at the very least.

Nando was still up, though. After Nadia’s movie had ended at 11, she went to go write her response while it was still fresh in her mind, and planned to join them once she was done.

“So, was it her dead sister, or was she the dead sister all along?”

Nando blinked. “I think I lost the thread after the 90 minute mark.”

“Oh. Good.”

“Good?”

“Well, not good, but,” Schmidt shrugged. “Same boat.”

“Same boat.”

Nando sighed and grabbed another piece of lukewarm pizza while flipping through his subscription feed, though out of the corner of his eye, he could tell Schmidt had something to say, though he looked...pensive about it.

“You know, if you need me to leave, now’s the perfect time.” He shrugged. “Nadia shouldn’t be back for another half an hour anyhow.”

“Why?” Nando decided this statement was too blunt. “I mean, why do you think I want you to leave?”

Schmidt shrugged again, it seemed less of a confused or considering motion, and more of just something of a benign statement in of itself. He sighed, and began to pick at his nails. 

It was strange to be sure, and he couldn’t help but be curious, but it wasn’t Nando’s place to pry. If he forced him to, that could send their friendship in one of two directions, and he wasn’t exactly looking to take such a brash step forward, so he didn’t. If Schmidt really wanted to tell him, he could when and if he ever felt like it.

“Well, if you want to leave, you can, but, I _did_ just find a pretty good murder mystery movie that I think you might like. Wanna take notes?”

Schmidt looked intrigued, and although he said nothing in return, he didn’t exactly make the motion to leave, so Nando flicked the picture on.

Nadia would join them 20 minutes after the movie started, and fell asleep soon after, and Schmidt fought the good fight until he too was passed out on the couch as the credits began to scroll.

Nando turned the TV off after that, and passively began to wonder about the etiquette that comes when people fall asleep on your couch. (Like, do _you_ go to bed, or do you just...chill with them?) 

But more actively, he began to recount the events that led him to where he was then, so he could find himself in a now like this in the near future. An interesting showing here, a missing object there, and of course, who could say no to Nadia?

...Yes, this could all pan out quite nicely in the future. Maybe these were rather intricate rituals to be constructed _just_ for the sake of hanging out with one’s best friend...however, these were their intricate rituals, and it’s not like even they understood them to begin with. 

But maybe that never really mattered at all. How funny a world it would be if it did.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I’m sorry this is so short! I have things I need to get done, but I also value my solemn vow that every time Karina posts Schmando art I simply HAVE to write something for her in return.
> 
> I promise I’ll work on Lunch Date...someday.
> 
> Also, I don’t know why, but Schmidt gives me autistic vibes, and I kind of write for him or his interactions with this in mind. Which is fun, but I’m also constantly reminded that Karina does read these. I wonder what she thinks. 
> 
> Juliastartoons.tumblr.com  
> Kofi: https://ko-fi.com/juliastartoons


End file.
